Last year, the Metropolitan Division contained a glut of average to below-average teams.

Four teams ended up making the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers all joined the playoff party. Eventually, the Rangers caught fire and made it to the end, only to be dispatched by the Los Angeles Kings.

This season, three teams have new coaches, and each team has a serious challenge ahead of them—whether it’s via injury, shortcoming, or unexpected breaking news.

It appeared that this rainy Saturday would be nothing but a dreary day on Long Island with every resident hoping for a few rays of sunshine to brighten up the day. Well, the sun may not have appeared from behind the clouds, but things are certainly shining bright after the New York Islanders made some bold trades that have drastically improved their roster.

The New York Islanders have acquired defenseman Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins and Nick Leddy from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite the New York Islanders still needing to add a top-four defenseman to their blue line to help ensure themselves a chance at making the playoffs next season, they still have an abundance of d-men that are ready to compete for a regular spot in the line-up.

Travis Hamonic, Calvin de Haan, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Thomas Hickey are likely four guaranteed defenseman to play on a nightly basis. Matt Carkner, Matt Donovan and Brian Strait are three blue liners that will play as well, solidifying six defenseman with one ready to sit and play when called upon.

The New York Islanders have been sold by current owner Charles Wang to an investment group led by former Washington Capitals co-owner, Jon Ledecky and investor Scott Malkin. Ledecky and Malkin have only purchased a minority stake of the team, leaving Wang in charge for the next two years.

Once the next two years pass, Ledecky and Malkin will become the full owners of the New York Islanders (Photo credit: Official New York Islanders/Flickr).

For years, fans had been clamoring for Charles Wang, the owner of the New York Islanders, to find a new home for the only professional sports team that exists on Long Island (Photo credit: michele cat/Flickr).

The Lighthouse Project came and went. The August 1st referendum came and failed. There were the ridiculous rumors of Kansas City, Ontario, and other places that never came to fruition. But one thing was certain: the New York Islanders were not going to be playing in the current Nassau Coliseum a day past the 2015 lease expiration date.

We’re several weeks past the onslaught of free agency madness, still more than a month away from training camp, and right smack in the middle of the dog days of summer with the NHL. The Islanders, after the acquisitions this off-season of Jaroslav Halak, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nikolai Kulemin, have addressed many of the holes that have plagued them in recent years.